Ice Cream and Puppies

The Doctor watched Rose, grinning manically. She was hopelessly dissolved in giggles at the antics of a puppy as it attempted to drag a sock towards her. It wasn't having much success, as it was standing on the sock at the same time. Every time it nearly figured it out and re-adjusted its path, it could only take a few steps before the sock dragged back under its feet, resulting in a very frustrated and confused little puppy, making a very cute image.

As Rose watched the puppy, the Doctor watched Rose, delighting in her happiness. He loved moments like these, when her eyes lit up. She seemed to shine, radiantly, perfectly, and he couldn't help but grin with her.

After a moment or so, she recovered enough to reach out a hand to attempt to help the poor dog, but was lost to laughter again as it snatched to sock away in attempt to keep it out of her grip, only to trip and roll on its back, where it immediately started growling and fiercely attacking said sock with all four feet.

'Oh yeah, he's gonna grow up to be a real killer.' Commented the Doctor, still not really watching the puppy. Her cheeks flushed beautifully when she laughed.

'He… he…' she broke down into giggles once more, covering her mouth briefly with her hand, before managing to get the sentence out. 'He's so gorgeous. Dogs haven't changed a bit in 5000 years.'

''cept they can read minds now.'

'What? Really?' Asked Rose, staring carefully at the wriggling puppy, before looking up at the Doctor. She was answered by a huge grin and she slapped him lightly on the arm. 'You…! Can we keep him?' She asked, changing her abuse to a wheedle half-way through.

'No. Nuh uh. No way.'

'Aw, but Doctor…' He bit his lip. Whenever she used that tone, it didn't bode well for him. He was pathologically incapable of saying no to something she really wanted. She backed it up by putting one warm hand on his thigh, and the temperature suddenly seemed to rise by about ten degrees.

'You let me keep the other cute ones.' She pointed out quickly, extracting a laugh from him, slightly breathless from the way she stroked her hand down to his knee before removing it. 'Yeah, and look where that landed us. Adam nearly went and destroyed the whole history of Earth.'

'Yeah, but he had a nice arse.' She told him confidentially, before breaking into peals of laughter at his look.

'Although,' he started cheekily, deciding it was time for some retaliation, 'keeping the cute ones doesn't always end in near disaster.'

'Really?' She had leaned down to rub the puppy's stomach as she looked sideways up at him with big brown eyes. He looked away, though thoughts on having that hand doing the same to him soon forced his eyes back to her face as he mumbled; 'Well I know at least one who hasn't been half bad.'

She rewarded his response with a slow smile that was at least as beautiful as watching her happy giggles. 'Although,' he added, warningly as her grin threatened to split her face, 'if you bring that dog on board, all hell will break loose.'

'Do you promise?' she asked, tone suddenly turning sultry. The Doctor had to work very hard for a moment to keep his feelings in check as she brushed her leg against his, where they sat on a park bench. He glanced down at the contact in an attempt to get himself under control before answering.

'I think you're going soft in the head if you're starting to enjoy mortal danger.'

'Wasn't talking about being in mortal danger.'

'Oh.' He was momentarily lost for words again. She did that to him. He was saved in the next moment however, when she looked up across the park and spotted something that looked not unlike an ice-cream truck. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him up.

'Come on.' She explained, 'I've got a sugar craving. Ice-cream time.'

He shook his head to himself as they walked over together, her warm hand fitting snugly into his. He should have been more aware but her antics had enveloped his brain with a nice warm fuzz. It was only going to get worse though- it was when he bought her a soft serve that the trouble really started.

The puppy had disappeared as they returned to the bench so he could eat his doughnut-like-thing whilst she attacked the cone full with cold, white, creamy ice-cream. They watched the children of at least six species playing together and ate in silence for a few moments. The problem came when the Doctor glanced over at his companion for a moment. Her pink tongue peeked out to lick up the side of the cone, before she put the whole tip in her mouth and sucked upwards, drawing the ice-cream into a thin tip, which curled over at the end.

The Time Lord's hands started to sweat suddenly and he glanced down quickly at his doughnut, taking another bite. Rose smacked her lips in appreciation. 'I reckon this is better than 2005 ice-cream.' She declared.

'All the wonders of the future, and you settle on the ice-cream.'

'It's the little things that are the best,' she pointed out firmly. 'See, try some.' So saying she proffered the cone to him, whereupon his mind promptly informed him that her tongue had licked that just a few seconds ago. He wondered vaguely why his jeans were suddenly so tight as he obliged and sliced the top off the soft-serve, drawing it thoughtfully into his mouth. It was Rose's turn to let out a ragged sigh, watching him. The sound practically undid him.

'Oh stuff it' he mumbled through the cool, sweet treat in his mouth. So saying, he slid one hand around the back of her neck, turning his heated gaze on hers. Her wide eyes gazed up into his, closing at the last moment as his lips met hers. The kiss became more involved, ice-cream shared between them. She moaned lightly as he tossed the rest of the doughnut away without looking and moved his now free hand to her hip, drawing her closer. She readily obliged, melding against him, her skin burning against his as his dual hearts sped up, sending the blood racing giddily through his veins.

The kiss grew more heated, before the Doctor realised that Rose probably needed air, and pulled back slightly, watching her face. Her eyes remained closed for a moment, before she opened them to meet his gaze. They sat like that, perfectly still for several heart beats looking deep into each other's eyes. Another second, and a giant grin split the Time Lord's face.

'You're right,' he said brightly, 'That is nice ice-cream.'

'Told you so,' she mumbled dreamily, licking her lips before engaging him in another, softer kiss. 'I think,' she whispered against his lips, 'that the TARIDS sounds good right about now.'

'Definitely.'

'Love-birds' muttered the puppy from under the seat as they walked away, although his voice was partially muffled by the remains of doughnut he was consuming.

The End